10 Composting Facts to Start Off With

A selection of composting facts that you may find interesting.

See the steam rising from this hot pile of straw and manure. A great ingredient for your compost.

If we are reading about something new with unfamiliar concepts it can be tricky, at first, to organise the knowledge into a coherent whole. It is only after the brain has had time to digest the new information, tossing it around and giving it due consideration that we can get a clear picture of where and how all the new facts fit together.

The following 10 composting facts do little to solve the problem of this confusion, but I found then interesting when I first started my compost research so thought you may too.

1 .Composting is the natural way of turning unwanted vegetable waste into a highly desirable growth medium that will vastly improve the quality and growing power of your soil.

2. This process plays an important part in the reduction of garden and kitchen waste and in the need to use chemical fertilisers.
3. Depending on where you live, you may reduce your contribution to land-fills by up to 31% if you re-cycle your garden waste.
4. Using a variety of materials is one of the secrets of a good outcome. Variety increases the number of micro-organisms in your pile and improves the quality and the amount of nutrients in the end result.
5. A good rule of thumb for balance when putting your ingredients together, is 2-3 parts of brown (dry) material to 1 part of green (wet) material.
6. Keep your mix damp and turn the ingredients regularly.
7. Even the bedding from your vegetarian pets and the fluff from your vacuum cleaner may be added to your compost. 8. You will know your compost is ready when it is brown and crumbly, of even texture and has a sweet, earthy smell. It should be slightly moist, with no signs of mould or rot.
9. Lack of space or time need not stop you from composting. There are systems to suit every circumstance.
10. Historically, using manure to condition soil has been traced back to Mesopotamia over 1,000 years before the birth of Moses. The modern take on compost began back in the early 20th century.

And two extra composting facts for free – Numbers 11 and 12 because we are not mean types here!
11. Compost works on the soil while fertiliser works on the plant!
12. Some of the best quality ‘black gold’ comes from worms. Consider worm farming.If you have some favourite composting facts (tips) you would like to pass on, please feel free. We will publish the best of them along with a link to your web-site. It’s good to share!